Hey guys, last week was crazy here! This is why this Savory Saturdays post is going up on a Monday, sorry for that. Grilling season is upon us, with the weather getting nicer and nicer and hey, it’s June already! I got the opportunity to review Anna Walz’ book Vegan BBQ, which is an amazing source of inspiration for this barbecue season. No matter whether you are vegan or not, you can be sure to find something to suite your taste. I especially love the Grilled Bread Salad with Mediterranean Vegetables, which is why you will find this recipe in here as well!

If you thought BBQ was only meat with meat with a little bit of carbs on the side, you were definitely wrong! There are so many delicious vegetarian and vegan options when it comes to barbecue, that there is really no excuse not to expand your horizon when it comes to grilling. Anna Walz’ Vegan BBQ book stands testimony for this. She includes everything from appetizers, sides, mains, sauces, sweets up to drinks – so you are definitely set for the whole BBQ experience with this book.

What I really enjoyed here was that all the ingredients are really easy to come by – no need to go to a speciality store, just go to your local supermarket and/or farmers market and you will be able to pick up all the ingredients there. Apart from the delicious Grilled Bread Salad with Mediterranean Vegetables that I’m going to share with you here, the quinoa salad with creamy raspberry dressing sounded really good to me too, as well as her vegan burger recipe, grilled pizza with zucchini, green chimichurri, grilled banana spring rolls with coconut cream and also her cherry-sangria with water melon. My mouth starts watering just by typing all of this out! I hope yours does too. 😉

It’s time to get to the recipe – so let’s jump right in to the deliciousness that is this Grilled Bread Salad with Mediterranean Vegetables. I made it for a barbecue with my parents and they loved it just as much as I do!

Cut bread into thick slices. Wash the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and fennel. Cut eggplant and zucchini into bite sized pieces. Cut tomatoes in half and remove the green stem parts. Quarter the fennel, remove the stem and cut into pieces as well.

Peel garlic and onions. Cut onion into half and slice up. Cut garlic into small pieces as well. Wash basil. Roast fennel seeds in a pan without oil until they become fragrant. Immediately put into a mortar and use the pestle to grind it up. Pour olive oil into a tall jar and add in the basil leaves and crushed fennel seeds. Use an immersion blender to blend everything up and slowly add the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper.

Use a pan, grilling plate or grilling basket to grill the vegetable mixture indirectly on the hot grill. Liberally spread oil in the pan or grilling plate. If you use a grilling basket, toss the vegetables first in oil. Grill the vegetables for about 5-8 minutes while you stir them. They should still retain some bite.

While the vegetables are being grilled, lightly coat the bread with oil as well and put them on the grill for 1-2 minutes. In a big bowl, combine the vegetables with the bread, add in the olives** and the sauce to marinate the salad. Consume immediately, so the bread does not soften up too much.

Notes

*I used dark bread that we usually eat, I love that it has a lot of flavor on it's own already and even more when toasted!**I actually completely forgot about the olives and also the onions (which you can either grill with the other vegetables or add in raw, whichever you prefer), and it still tasted great.

I’m sure you would enjoy Vegan BBQ by Anna Walz as well, so consider getting your own copy to make the most out of this year’s barbecue season. If you enjoy this recipe for the Grilled Bread Salad with Mediterranean Vegetables, please share it with your friends!

Thank you so much, Justine! I agree, I think goat cheese would be delicious with this dish 🙂 If you use it light handed and not the most salty version, there is nothing wrong with enjoying some good goat cheese!

Thank you so much Holly! I live in a small town too and while I do regularly go to a bigger one for speciality shopping, it’s really nice to be able to just quickly go down to the local market and pick everything up for a recipe!

Hey Kat. So I’ve been a little MIA from the online world lately but been meaning to stop by and see what you’ve been up to! Definitely didn’t expect a bread salad 🙂 but it sounds AMAZING and I love all the grilled goodness in there. Looks amazing.

Hey Audrey, I missed you! Are you back from traveling? Expect the unexpected from me, or so 😀 Thank you so much for the compliment – if you want something refreshing and more “typically me” as well, how about my Green Cucumber Mint Smoothie? It has been so popular already, and Natalie actually tried and loved it, although she is usually not a fan of this kind of smoothie! 🙂

There is really so much that you can put on a grill! I would highly recommend either the book I talked about here (I think it’s German only though) or something similar, if you need some new ideas. Definitely give this salad a try, it’s so delicious and will impress non vegetarians as well!

I’ve never even thought about bread salad, but man this looks tasty! I haven’t grilled anything in a while, but it adds such wonderful flavor to veggies. I especially love grilled zucchini, so those little zucchini coins really have my mouth watering 🙂 That sounds like a great book, really dispelling the concept that bbq = meat…veggies need grilling too 🙂

Bread salad in general is actually quite common here as a side when you make a barbecue – at least at bigger ones, because well, cutting all the veggies up does take a bit of time 😉 I love grilled veggies too, they taste just so delicious! I’m glad you enjoy this recipe 🙂

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Hey, I'm Kat! I'm writing about nourishing (breakfast) food, travel and throw in a little bit about eco friendly living and beauty as well. Let me show you that eating well and living eco friendly doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself!read more...

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